


Of Princesses and Paupers

by suseagull04



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23733517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suseagull04/pseuds/suseagull04
Summary: When his life is turned upside down, Robin goes to care for his brother John, and in the process is roped into volunteering for the town's Renn Fest with his nephew Roland. Is the festival's Queen a pain in the neck, or just the distraction he needs?
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12
Collections: OQ Book Week





	Of Princesses and Paupers

**Author's Note:**

> This is my final entry for OQ Book Week, inspired by Well Met by Jen DeLuca. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Robin surveyed the decrepit auditorium before him. He was here to drop off his nephew, Roland, at his first rehearsal for some program he was doing over the summer, and if the building was any indication, he wouldn’t enjoy the program’s main event, some kind of festival put on for the town. He wouldn’t be here at all, couldn’t bear the thought of being trapped in a small town like this for any longer than a day, and the old green chairs, bamboo ramps to the stage, and faded emerald curtains confirmed how out of place he was. 

But then his life had turned upside-down, and John had had his accident. It had been a welcome distraction from his heartbreak, and Robin had flown down to Salisbury, Maryland on the first available flight.

“Funny how quickly they’re capable of growing up, isn’t it, mate?” a man standing next to him asked. 

Robin glanced over at him. “Yeah, it is.” The man was slender, with a strong accent that immediately told Robin that he wasn’t the only one who had changed the place he called home in the course of his life. His sharp nose and short haircut added to his brisk manner, and his casual clothes, torn, faced jeans and a large t-shirt, alluded to a lifestyle devoid of any responsibility. Robin was surprised. For this seemingly lackadaisical man to notice the passage of time and be nostalgic seemed a contradiction to his appearance. 

“Will, let the man breathe and invite him to sign in,” a short, broad man said reproachfully, nudging Robin’s companion with his elbow. He pointed toward his friend and held out his hand. “In case this scoundrel hasn’t introduced himself, he’s Will Scarlett. And I’m Tuck Friar. Or Friar Tuck here.” He laughed. 

“Did you plan that?” Robin laughed, immediately warming to the man’s kind temperament as he held out his hand for Tuck to shake. “I’m Robin.” 

"Well, no, of course not- after all, my parents named me. However, it was too perfect to resist once I started doing Renn Fest."

"Renn Fest?" Robin asked. 

Tuck let out a booming laugh. "You don't know what Renn Fest is? Didn't you know what you were signing up for?"

"Signing up?" Robin repeated. "I didn't sign up for anything.”

Tuck shook his head, using his palm to smack himself on the forehead. “Well, of course you didn’t. You’re John’s brother, aren’t you? Roland’s uncle?”

In lieu of answering verbally, Robin nodded. 

Tuck nodded with a knowing smile. “Well, all of the students participating need to have a parent or guardian volunteering with them. And unfortunately, with John’s accident-”

“Roland no longer has an adult with him,” Robin finished, understanding where this was going. 

“We have a student here without a parent?!” an indignant female voice interrupted them as a woman in a red dress and black heels strided up to them. She glared at the two men Robin had just met. “This is what I get for leaving the two of you in charge of anything, especially you, Will. Tuck, you were supposed to be supervising him! I’m never delegating anything to either of the two of you ever again.”

Her fierce glare shifted to Robin. He felt like he was about two feet tall, shorter than any of the kids around them, as she unleashed her fury on him. “And you! You must be the one trying to squeeze through the cracks and just leave your child here. What kind of parent are you? Leaving a child unattended when the rules for his participation specifically state that a parent or guardian must be in attendance as well. There are too many variables here, and we’re all volunteers here, not babysitters, Mr.-”

“Locksley,” he supplied, part of him hesitant to do so.

“Well, Mr. Locksley, if you’re not willing to help us out, then i’m afraid you’ll have to take your son or daughter home, and they won’t be able to participate in Renn Fest this year,” she told him. Her manner was so brusque that Robin couldn’t help wondering if she remembered that everyone in the room was volunteering. None of them was there because they had to be. 

“Seeing as I have no son or daughter, I’ll be doing neither,” he shot back. “Who do you play, anyway? The princess? Am I disturbing the peace in your kingdom, Your Highness?”

“It’s ‘Your Majesty,’” she corrected. “I’m the queen.”

“Well, excuse me,  _ Your Majesty, _ ” he answered with a mock bow. “I do apologize for my behavior.”

“You’d better,” she muttered. She turned to the other men in their little circle. “He can be a thief with you, Will. It would certainly suit his personality.”

“I”m sorry, what?” Robin said indignantly.

“You’re stealing my valuable time. I have more important things to do,” she said imperiously, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “So yes, you will be one of the thieves.”

Robin couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. She may regret putting him in such a position. “Very well, Your Majesty.”

She walked away, likely to go terrorize some unsuspecting student, Robin assumed. Once the  _ click, clack  _ of her black heels had carried her a sufficient distance away, Will turned to him and asked indignantly, “What d’you think you’re doing, mate?”

“What?” Robin asked. It was clear that the devil in heels could fend for herself, but what was the big deal?

Tuck sighed and shot a look of disapproval Will’s way. “Let’s just say that Regina Mills isn’t someone you want on your bad side.”

“Want on your bad side?” Will repeated. “That’s the understatement of the century. Regina will eat you alive if you so much as step one toe out of line, especially when it comes to Renn Fest.”

“Why does she act that way?” he inquired. A woman who was that well-known for her temper surely had a reason for it.

Tuck shook his head. “I’m sorry, Robin, but it’s not our story to tell.”

Robin nodded, sitting in one of the chairs and pulling up one of the desks to fill out the volunteer forms Tuck had just handed him when a familiar voice brought everyone’s attention to the front. “Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the first day of our practices for Renn Fest!”

A round of applause resounded throughout the auditorium, and Robin could pick out Roland’s cheers amongst those of the other students. Once those cheers had subsided, Regina continued, “We have a lot of work to do in the next few months, but i know that each one of you,” here her gaze swept the room, and Robin couldn’t help noticing that it lingered on him for just a fragment of a second longer than anyone else, “will do your part to ensure the success of Renn Fest this year. Am I right?”

“Yes, Ms. Mills!” the teens shouted, a cry that was emphasized by the applause of the adults.

She nodded. “Then let’s make this our best year yet!” She ended the speech with a smile, and Robin was floored at the sight. Not only was it startling that she smiled at all, but the sheer beauty of it was as well. Robin was certain that he had never seen a more captivating smile in his life.

Several hours later, however, Robin had to struggle to keep that smile in his mind’s eye. They had spent so much of the day in history lessons that he feared that after too many weeks, he would be eating, sleeping, and breathing the 1600s- which was the whole point, he supposed. 

The only thing that kept him going throughout the day was looking at his nephew and how happy he was. Robin had loved Roland as if he was his own son for so long that he often forgot that they weren’t father and son by blood. He would do anything to make him happy, so seeing him talk and laugh with his friends was worth the agony of Ms. Mills barking orders at everyone left and right. If he didn’t know any better, he would guess that she had very little in her life outside of this theater. Why else would she micromanage them all with such precision?

By the end of the day, his hands were cramped and his back was aching from being bent over the desk all day. But there was a spark in Roland’s eyes that he never wanted to discourage. So when Tuck asked him at the end of the day if they would be seeing him again, he wasn’t hesitant with his answer: “Absolutely.”


End file.
